A reggae-singing, rookie actor from Mauritius is making a big noise in Shanghai. And now he is hatching a radical plan to fuse his music with the best China has to offer.
It is often those who find their way to Shanghai by chance that have the best stories. Like Gilbert Kuppusami, for example, a native of Mauritius, who has become one of the city's best-known expat musicians since moving here in 2001, not to mention discovering a new-found passion for acting in movies.
"Shanghai has been a big part of my life. It is like my hometown now and in Asia, it is the only place where I want to work," he says.
Kuppusami has always been a musician. He plays drums and hand percussion and sings in a reggae style that when mixed with funky soul instrumentally generates a truly unique sound locally. Reggae is still a fairly new sound in Shanghai, but it has been a big part of the expat's life from an early age.
Born in Port Louis in Mauritius, a little island nation 800 kilometers east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, Kuppusami started playing and singing early in his secondary school years.
And although music is a big part of the culture in Mauritius, he is the only musical member of his family. "My dad did not want me to become a musician," he says. "He wanted me to be a policeman because he believed there was no future for musicians in Mauritius."
In attempt to appease his father, Kuppusami continued his studies at a technical school learning how to make parts for textile machines.
"After that I went to work for a textile company, but it was so dirty I soon quit," he says.
At just 17, Kuppusami returned to music and began to perform in hotels. "I started playing with well-known local artists like Kaya, who was hailed as the Bob Marley of Mauritius.
"Once when I was on stage with Kaya he was arrested for using drugs and sent to prison where he was later beaten to death. This really saddened me."
His father had warned him that Mauritius was a difficult place to work as a musician and he was right. So Kuppusami decided to move to South Africa where he was quickly awarded a Kora award for his song "Mauritius Man" as one of the best artists in Eastern Africa.
